Where Faith and Community Meet

Welcome! Christ the King Parish, a Catholic faith community, embraces a belief in Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of his mission.

We manifest this belief by respecting and promoting the dignity of persons of all ages, cultures, economic and vocational backgrounds. We sustain this belief by coming together for: prayer and worship; fellowship and celebration; education and development; response to societal and justice concerns.

Our History

Christ the King Parish was founded September 1938. Originally, it was to be located at 78th and Holmes "south of Waldo." The original boundaries ran a zig-zag course from 75th Street and Troost to Martin City on the south and from Cherry to State Line on 80th Street.

Fr. Thomas J. Connelly was the first pastor. He did a census of the proposed parish area and discovered 17 families. A storeroom northeast of 85th and Holmes was rented and the congregation celebrated its first Mass together on the Feast of Christ the King, October 30, 1938.

Five weeks later they moved into a small tin barn at 808 W. 85th Street. It had been a nightclub called the "Silver Barn" and after the first Sunday mass, Fr. Connelly was visiting with a parish member outside the church. A gentleman drove up who had evidently been touring the county in search of "libation". Upon seeing the people leaving he asked, "Where is everybody going? I was just going to buy the house a drink." The following week a cross was erected on top of the church so that passersby would know the Silver Barn existed no more.

In 1941, a lot with a large house was purchased on the southwest corner of 85th and Wornall from T. Eugene Crawford. Construction on a new church in a mission style, was begun. There were about 75 families.

On May 24, 1943, the church burned to the ground and took the rectory with it. The property was located in the county at the time and there were no fire fighting facilities. Parishioners immediately began to clear the ruins and by the following Sunday they were able to have Mass in the basement remains of the church. They built a new church identical to the former one, which was blessed December 19, 1943.

At the blessing ceremony Bishop Edwin O'Hara told the people the area was going to grow rapidly and encouraged them to plan for a school. In the fall of 1945 the basement of the church was divided into three classrooms and school opened with 46 children. By the fall of 1946 a new school was prepared for occupancy. It was made up of four classrooms and an office and cost $68,000. By 1950 there were 325 families.

In 1952, Msgr. Arthur Tighe came to Christ the King. He purchased additional property and on November 9, 1952, ground was broken for a new church. Christ the King was considered far ahead of its time when a free-standing altar was constructed. Pope Pius XII had given special permission for Bishop O'Hara to celebrate the first Mass facing the people on May 9, 1954. The boundaries for the parish were now from 80th to 110th Street and State Line to Troost.

When Msgr. Vincent Kearney came in 1958 there were 2029 Catholic children in the parish (925 were enrolled in the school) and 2457 adult Catholics. Additions were made to the school to accommodate the growing student population.

In July 1960 the rectory was built and in March 1965, the gymnasium and cafeteria were added to the school. The church was air conditioned in the late summer of 1966, a goal which the Holy Name Society had been working toward since the spring of 1960.

In 1978, when Msgr. Kearney was assigned to another parish, about 150 persons staged a prayer rally outside the chancery, hoping to keep Monsignor as pastor. Their request was denied and in 1979 Bishop George K. Fitzsimmons was assigned pastor of the parish.On March 24, 1981, Christ the King parishioners demonstrated outside the church protesting the movement of the tabernacle from the main altar to the side altar. Despite attempts to block the move, the tabernacle was relocated and remains today on the side altar.

When Fr. William Bauman came to Christ the King in 1984 there were 2,280 registered parishioners in the parish and there were 385 students in the school. In 1985 half of the convent was renovated into an apartment while the other half became the LIFE Center (Lay Involvement, Faith Enrichment) with 7 offices and an Assembly Room for gatherings and meetings of up to 35 people.

In 1991 St. Augustine parish closed, adding 100 parishioners to the Christ the King family. In October, to meet the needs of our aging parish family, wheel chair ramps and new bathrooms were installed in the Church Hall and an elevator was installed in the church. That same year the Preschool was remodeled.

Fr. Mancuso joined Christ the King in 1992 but was with us only one year. Fr. John Weiss, our current pastor came in 1993. Between these two priests we have seen several much-needed renovations in the school including new gym restrooms, the addition of a computer lab in the basement and the remodeling of the cafeteria to accommodate a hot lunch program. With an increasing number of working parents, the convent was turned into an Infant/Toddler Center in 1996.

In 1997 a Pastoral Council was initiated. The council members work with the Pastor, the staff and the parishioners to address areas of interest and need within the parish. Small faith groups participating in prayer and Bible study have been formed.

On a hot summer day in 1998 the parish celebrated its 60 year anniversary. The 50s and 60s were the decades of a huge school; the 70s and 80s saw in increase in our senior population. The 90s allowed us to focus on the needs of our parishioners, both the aging and the young. Christ the King Parish continues to be a vibrant church community serving the needs of a diverse population as it heads into the new millennium.